


The Not Friend

by hisboywriter



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-04
Updated: 2013-02-04
Packaged: 2017-11-28 04:16:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/670170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisboywriter/pseuds/hisboywriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to 'The Not Date'. Teddy wonders what it means to have a real friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Not Friend

**-X-**

Teddy was early.

 

Where he often prided himself for his punctuality and liked to avoid the anxiety that crashed on him whenever he was even one minute late, today it was doing him little favors. He was a good nine minutes early, a reminder he received with each peek at his phone as though if he snuck enough glances time would zip by faster. If anything though, it made time trundle by twice as slow.

Nine minutes. That meant five-hundred-and-forty seconds to himself, standing by the sushi joint and trying to act like he wasn’t an embodiment of frayed nerves.

Eight minutes.

Teddy shoved his phone deep into his pocket and opted to take a few, deep breaths to stabilize himself. As he expected, it didn’t do much. How could it? It was Billy he was waiting to see. It was that smile he could pinpoint through a herd of people that made him feel like—well, what he felt exactly he couldn’t even say. But it was a good feeling.

Still eight minutes left.

Teddy sighed and sunk back against the brick wall of the restaurant. He was fibbing if he said he didn’t know what he felt, to some degree anyway. It didn’t help matters that all of it was aggravated by the school day he had braved through, that had ended only a couple hours ago yet still burned as if he was living it right now.

 _Greg_ , he thought, feeling his face pinching tight as the name spread like mold in the back of his mind, making him feel sick.

Not all the shape-shifting in the world could change the memories of Greg’s face across the hallway, the look in his eyes that had both spurned a fire inside of Teddy as much as it made his throat run dry, the way Greg’s lips had curled up in that way he looked at others he considered worth less than the dirt on his shoes.

Teddy knew that look well. He had seen it plenty of times in Greg’s company when they were—

“Teddy!”

All thoughts screeched to a halt just in time for Teddy to spot a limb breaching the crowd and waving at him. Then, he zoomed in on Billy’s face. The mage smiled at him and Greg dove back into the mental cage where he belonged. For now.

“Hey,” Teddy greeted, straightening. “You’re early.”

“I’m early?” Billy breathed out, sounding like he had used the streets of New York as his personal track—a fact that made Teddy preen on the inside. “You’re the one already here. Were you waiting long?”

“No,” Teddy said, taking in the full view as Billy stepped out of the fray. He barely repressed a smirk at how Billy tried to smooth out any wrinkles in his outfit and make it look like he wasn’t trying to fix whatever the breeze had done to his hair.

“Oh, good,” Billy said, dropping his hands from his head. He studied Teddy, then seemed to realize he was doing so, and forced his eyes to the building before them. “I haven’t had sushi in forever.”

“Have you ever been to this place?” Teddy asked, already reaching to hold the door open for Billy. He thought he saw the mage smile a little too widely when he did.

Billy stepped through and replied, “Nope. First time. I’m excited. You gotta tell me what to order. Again.”

Teddy assured him he was in good hands and followed him inside. He surveyed the area, confirming that they had made it at the perfect time, just before rush hour would strike. For now, the restaurant was the epitome of tranquility and relaxation in both décor and patrons. Just what Teddy could use.

A woman with a practiced smile greeted them. “Would you like a seat at the sushi bar or a table?”

“Table,” Teddy said, hoping he didn’t sound too assured. The bar area was the center of noise at the restaurant, however little.

Billy seemed oblivious to that, scanning the place with curious eyes as they settled into a table.

“Wow,” he said once the hostess had left, “this place is so nice. It feels fancy.”

“Without the fancy prices,” Teddy replied, chuckling at the relief spreading in Billy’s eyes.

“It’s certainly different than the burger joint we hit last time,” Billy said, eyes raking over the menu. “Er…a little help?”

Teddy laughed inside at the cute (there was no other word for it) expression riddling Billy’s face as he grappled with the menu. “I think I’m having déjà vu,” he said as he leaned forward until their eyes shared the same menu. “Not that I mind.”

“I haven’t gotten out much is all,” Billy muttered. “I’m working to change that.”

“You’re doing a great job to me. Don’t worry,” Teddy said, just as Billy’s hand brushed his and pointed to something. Teddy was unsure if it was the restaurant or his body that spiked in temperature suddenly.

Despite himself, Teddy’s eyes gravitated off the sushi platters and watched Billy’s finger drag down and down. His fingers were smaller than Teddy’s, no doubt, but of a boy’s hand nonetheless.  A little mental pushing on Teddy’s part had him remember he was supposed to be offering his opinion on the plates and not getting introspective about his fellow teammate.

He was halfway down the menu when he realized Billy hadn’t interrupted him with even a grunt of understanding. Lifting his eyes, Teddy found Billy studying him, maybe too intently because the mage blinked rapidly and ducked his head. Not very smoothly either.

“Something wrong?” asked Teddy.

“What? No, nothing.” Billy cleared his throat. “I think I’d like to try the unagi.”

Teddy leaned back in his seat, ignoring the part of him that missed having been closer to Billy’s face. “Really?”

Both of Billy’s brows quirked up. “What? You don’t think I can be adventurous?”

“Quite the opposite, actually.”

Teddy couldn’t help but swell on the inside at the satisfied look his answer got him. The day’s earlier misgivings were starting to wane and Teddy realized how hungry he was now after having only picked at his food during lunch, even if his stomach still felt like a small nest of serpents.

They ordered, Billy with a proud voice as he selected something new. The waiter left, returned with their drinks, and finally allowed them the space in time to hold each other’s eyes and stir up some conversation.

Teddy’s dread dropped back into his gut when Billy asked, “So, how was school today? You had an English test, right? Did you do well?”

Teddy remembered the exam, buried beneath the scene with Greg, and clung to it. “Uh, yeah. Well, I’m not sure, actually. I think I did okay. It was on The Great Gatsby and English isn’t exactly my favorite topic.”

In all honesty, Teddy knew he probably did better on this exam than he had in all previous English exams. With the lack of partying and humoring the whims of a certain basketball player, Teddy had nothing but time to study. Diving into the world of his textbooks was better than replaying the daily unease of school ever since he burned his bridge with Greg.

“Oh, we just finished that book,” Billy said. “If you still need it, I could help you out if you want. I kind of like English, personally.”

“Really?”

“Sure.” Billy looked extra preoccupied palming his drink. “If you want, that is. What’s a few study sessions among hanging out, right? Rather…”

Billy was on the throes of rambling and Teddy stopped it with a soft chuckle out his nose. Shaking his head, he answered, “No, that’d be great. It’d certainly get my mom off my case about it.”

“I know how that is,” Billy said.

Teddy narrowed his eyes, picking up on Billy’s tone. “No, you don’t. You’re good in school.”

A rush of pink dusted Billy’s face and he shrugged one shoulder. “Well,” he started, then relaxed when he caught Teddy grinning. “Yeah, I guess I’m pretty good overall. But I mean, when you got nothing but bullies hounding after you, what else are you going to do but hide in your room? Might as well get homework done while you’re there.”

Something cold ran through Teddy at the words, how eerie they matched his most recent predicament. Hoping to mask the surprise, Teddy kept up his smile, then dropped it when he realized that truth founded itself in Billy’s joke.

Billy’s face fell at the sight. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring the mood do—“

“No, it’s fine,” Teddy insisted. “Actually, that’s…it’s not fine. That you felt obligated to,” how to word it without sounding brash, “erm…”

“Teddy.”

“Yeah?”

“It’s okay.” Billy’s smile returned, soft and still luminous enough to pull one out of Teddy. “It’s not like that anymore. I’m a lot happier now. Sorry I brought it up.”

Teddy rode the silence that followed for a handful of blinks. “Don’t be,” he said when he knew he had command over his voice again. “That’s not the kind of thing you just share with anyone, right? And we’re here to just hang out and get to know each other. Enjoy the company. No, ahem, business.”

He felt lighter with the words already, especially when Billy agreed.

“So,” Billy began.

It was inevitable that the conversation would steer and dive into the topic of comics right then and the latest exploits of superheroes. Teddy didn’t mind it one bit. He never quite got the opportunity to admit how much of a fanboy he was and here was Billy, all too eager to delve into any subtopic over the matter, regardless of how public of a venue they were at.

Not to mention there was no way he’d pass up on the way Billy’s eyes sparkled and his body language grew more animated with each point. It was enough to widen the distance between Teddy and the day’s earlier scruple, but not enough to untangle the mess in his stomach, one that he knew if he tried to fix himself would only get more mangled.

Billy brought up the new movie based on Spider-Man at one point, asking if Teddy wanted to go see it and, if he was totally okay with it, see it with Billy. Of course Teddy leapt at the opportunity to mark a date on his calendar, but a furtive mechanism in his mind took note of how Billy had asked him instead of demanded it.

He didn’t mull it over much because the bill came too soon, rude as ever in how it signaled that it was just a step sooner to their day ending. Teddy frowned at it when he slipped his half of the check in, and quickly lost it when he spotted Billy working on his lower lip.

“The unagi coming back with a vengeance?” he asked.

“No. It was actually really good. Just,” Billy paused, looking like he was mentally quarreling with himself, “you don’t have to head home right away, right?”

“Nope. I already told my mom that I’d be out a little later this time,” Teddy said, leaving out the more embarrassing bits. His brain continued to replay the image of his mom’s knowing smile when he had come home after hanging out with Billy last time.

He felt warm just remembering the litany of questions she had about the day and this new friend of his called ‘Billy’. Something about her tone made Teddy’s skin tickle, like he was hiding a big secret she already knew of.

And that look she gave him was playing before his eyes now, making the temperature of the restaurant skyrocket. He poured his attention into the way Billy seemed to relax at the notion of Teddy having more free time, and set his mother’s suspicions on the back burner for now.

“Cool, me too,” Billy said. “I, ah, actually wanted to show you something. A couple of things.”

At that, Teddy’s interest piqued. “Oh?” he asked, starting to smirk. “A surprise?”

“Yep. You won’t get it out of me early though,” Billy said, and got up quickly as if to prove his point. “It’s good to walk off your food too.”

True enough. Teddy followed, feeling a bounce in his heels as they ventured into the bustle of the city’s nightlife. “It isn’t the theater is it?” he asked.

Billy cast him a knowing smile. “You mean the one where you have to get through a sea of couples making out just to reach what’s probably one of the most gorgeous views in the city?”

It was hard, but Teddy pretended he wasn’t fighting a smile. “Yeah, that one.”

“Nope.”

Teddy chuckled, and decided against prying into where Billy was leading him. After having been on the opposite end last time, leading the mage to a mysterious destination, he had no qualms letting Billy take the reins. Billy led him across a street, heading east, and started babbling away the moment he stepped off the curb.

The knots grew tighter as Billy talked on. Teddy tried to identify the mixed feelings causing it. There were the good parts, he knew those well enough. The good feelings that came from the moment Billy agreed to hang out with him, or the delight at seeing his face when they finally did meet up.

Then there were the rotten ones. The ones that told him how easily anyone could throw him under the bus, that the concept of friendship was too raw and obscured for him to indulge in it. It didn’t help that those thoughts sounded an awful lot like Greg was the voice of them.

Teddy reined himself out of the contemplation, knowing it was doing him no good. Billy was still talking, this time about a family trip he had taken to the country (visiting relatives). He relayed little about the family affairs, only to say he had barely survived the obligatory awkward greetings, and instead focused on the landscape and how it was so expansive you could almost forget just a few miles down the peaks of a city existed. 

A thought jumped out of a dark corner from Teddy’s mind. He knew it was childish to wonder if Billy would respond to what he was about to do, stupid even, but he stepped over those concerns and muttered in a low voice, “I like it too.”

Billy glanced at him in mid-speech, the exact reaction Teddy had craved but was unprepared for. “Hm? What did you say?” Billy asked.

Teddy blinked and licked his lips. “Uh, I said I like it too.”

“Oh yeah?” Billy smiled. “What about the country do you like? Do you want to live out there or are you really more of a city boy?”

Teddy’s heart danced, his stomach feeling lighter than it had all day. The tension lessened just enough for him to take in a big breath and say, “Um, actually, I think I’d like to have a place in the country. Just to take a break for a weekend or something you know? But I couldn’t live there a long time, I think. Not now anyway. I’m a city boy.”

Billy laughed, and, to Teddy’s further delight, pressed him on more details. Would he want a cottage? Would he like to build his own place and rent it out when he wasn’t using it? What was Teddy’s favorite part about the city?

Billy kept on feeding his relief by responding to each of Teddy’s comment. With a smile, no less.

Teddy had heard once that you could tell if a smile was real if it reached the person’s eyes. That was a given with Billy. Early on, the mage’s smiles faintly twinkled in his gaze, though they were mostly overshadowed by what Teddy figured was nervousness. Soon enough though, he caught on to what a real smile looked on Billy, thanks to the additional (furtive) staring Teddy did at his teammate.

But Billy’s smiles were good, the kind that made Teddy want to smile too. They weren’t snide, paired with a mean laugh, or anything that otherwise would make Teddy almost grimace. He’d seen enough of that.

“Well, if I ever do have a place out there,” Teddy said, “you’re more than welcome to crash.”

Billy hummed in mock contemplation. “You know, I think I’d take you up on that.”

The conversation had engulfed the bulk of Teddy’s attention that he hadn’t noticed they were in familiar territory. Billy fell silent, his eyes pulling off Teddy and onto something else. Teddy glanced over and met the grand sight of the Avengers Mansion, desolate and seemingly a world away thanks to the iron teeth barricading it from intruders.

A pressure weighed on Teddy’s chest as a memory seized him. It seemed too soon ago he was in there, severing ties for good. Though he knew Billy must have no clue to that, Teddy’s heart fluttered.

“What are we doing here?”  he asked.

“This is where I came to do some thinking. Sometimes it was quiet enough for it. Clearly now’s not one of those times,” Billy said. “Too bad. It looks really amazing when there’s no one else around. Almost haunting even.”

Teddy took in the hubbub bloating all around them. The electricity of city nightlife charged through here as well. People hustled by, some loitering but still full of animation, and everyone looked busy one way or another. Definitely not a time for reflective musings.

“Thinking here?” he parroted, finding his gaze locked easily on the mansion despite the bustle. Whatever enchantment Billy referred to was overwhelmed by the activity and locked behind the gates.

“Last time, you took me to a spot you did thinking. I just thought maybe I could show you one of my spots. In return, you know,” Billy whispered.

At those words and their shift in tone, Teddy found the strength to break away from the mansion and study Billy. The mage was looking at the edifice as though he, too, was tumbling through his own memories. Teddy didn’t think he ever saw Billy look so…small.

Billy’s eyes finally flicked over to him and Teddy remembered the weight of his teammate’s words.

“It’s not as beautiful of a view as yours though,” Billy said, smiling again, if a bit sheepishly. “Especially with all these people around.”

Teddy shook his head and felt a smile crawling on his lips, a sad kind of smile. Though he couldn’t say he knew what Billy’s memories consisted of, there was no mistaking they weren’t the best kinds.

“No, that’s…I’m not sure what to say,” Teddy admitted. He thought to share a raw piece of himself by retelling what had occurred inside the mansion. When he tried to gather the courage to do so, his lungs clamped up and all his effort went to remembering how to breathe.

Billy cast him an enigmatic look. For a moment, Teddy thought he was about to divulge something, but then Billy only shook his head and stared at the mansion once more.

“I actually…had another place I really wanted to show you,” Billy added, fiddling with the hem of his jacket. “This was just a pit stop along the way.”

“It’s not the theater is it?”

He wasn’t sure, but liked to think Billy grew a little pink at that. “Shut up. I know it sounds lame, but you showed me a cool place and, well, the place I want to take you isn’t cool but…has the same kind of importance to me. Maybe not as important as this place but…”

“That’s not lame, Billy.”

Billy didn’t look convinced, rolling his eyes to punctuate his sentiment. “Clearly,” he said, now with impish grin that rarely graced his face in the company of others. “Come on, follow me.”

Teddy had no objection, his stomach twisting for all sorts of different reasons now. He decided to leave Greg back at the mansion for now and journey on with Billy to this new, mysterious setting.

It was a short walk compared to the first, albeit it more solemn as they barely spoke along the way. Teddy grew anxious with each step as he tried to dissect the act of Billy sharing such a sacred place. He stopped bothering altogether when he spotted the building he knew to house Billy’s home.

Billy didn’t even pass him a knowing glance and strode right on in.

Teddy couldn’t even find anything beneath his wonder to say anything, even as they rode the elevator and he heard Billy wrestling the key into the door of his home. They were inside then, Teddy only just realizing he was stepping into his teammate’s home for the first time. Something tingled in his back and raced up his neck.

“Oh, um,” he tried to speak, eyes scanning the room and taking note of some of the décor. “Is it okay that I’m—“

At last, Billy looked at him. “Yeah, they’re out,” he said, and pressed on.

Teddy scrambled to follow, his legs ahead of his brain. One, two, three strides, and he was looming in the doorway leading to Billy’s room, stuck there like he doubted he could traverse into another’s territory. His eyes jumped around, spotted the bed, a desk, posters a fanboy would approve of. Something told him it was strangely neat, and Teddy indulged in the absurd idea that Billy had sanitized his room recently, maybe having planned to lure Teddy in all along.

He must have been staring and mulling over said absurdities too long because he heard Billy clear his throat.

Billy stood by the single window, flanked by two posters. “I don’t recall you being a vampire,” he said.

That broke Teddy’s stupor and he furrowed his eyebrows. “Huh?”

Billy’s eyes drifted to the side. “Erm, you know. Vampires can’t come in without being invited? Though that’s mostly for the overall house I think…”

It was a derailed understanding, but when it hit, Teddy cracked into a grin. “Oh. Right. Sorry. I just…didn’t expect this,” he said, his gut cartwheeling when he stepped inside.

“I told you it was lame,” Billy said. “But look.”

Teddy approached, devouring what details he could of the room, happy to think he could spend plenty of time in here. His gaze followed Billy’s line of sight out the window. The chill of the falling night smacked him in the face and he squinted as lights dazzled his vision.

“Whoa,” he said.

The right half of the window’s view dove into a main street, hugged by skyscrapers and littered with cars, most of them yellow. With the sun dipping to the west, lights buzzed to life on buildings, bounced off the front of cars, and highlighted assorted billboards. Teddy smiled. If his view at the theater was a bird’s eyes view of a stream, he was right at its bank here.

“I know it’s kind of hard to see unless you lean to one side, but,” Billy shrugged. “To be honest, I did most of my thinking here.” He gestured to his room. “I liked looking outside at night.”

Teddy enjoyed the view a moment longer before he pulled back and surveyed the space of Billy’s room. “You mean,” he hesitated, “alone?”

Billy rapped his fingers on the windowsill. “Well, you didn’t go with someone to your special spot, right?”

Teddy pressed his lips together, not sure anything he could say could assuage the truth that was Billy finding solace in his room, like a kid who hid under the blankets to make the monsters disappear. The image of the mage gazing out of the window, homework handy, as if he wished he could feel as bright as the lights aloft repeated in Teddy’s mind, pestering him like a fly even when he mentally swatted it aside.

Worse, he pictured a few splotches of blue and purple on Billy’s face, made that much more apparent because of the glow from outside.

“You should see it during the holiday season,” Billy said. “Can’t say I dislike seeing all those pretty lights.”

Teddy peered out the window again, head throbbing with the implications. He was grateful Billy didn’t say more, allowing Teddy a moment to the heaping mess that was his thoughts. That image of Billy, alone and slouched over his assignments, sat at the top of the mess, and it was soon that Teddy decided.

He exhaled as a means to prepare himself and said, “Do you remember when we were on the roof? You asked if someone I trusted hurt me.”

“Yeah,” Billy said, and Teddy thought he heard the apprehension in his voice.

Teddy ripped a layer of his shield like a bandage: “We did have a falling out. At the Avengers Mansion, actually.” He paused. “He was my…best friend. So I thought. It wasn’t pretty.”

The resulting silence was the thickest yet, its weight pushing down on Teddy. He wished he had more to say and didn’t have to listen to his heartbeat, each pulse like a plea and loud enough to make the dissonance of the city below become a low thrum. What his heart pleaded for he had no idea.

“Oh,” Billy finally said. Teddy had no clue what kind of ‘oh’ it was. “That’s…awful. Well, obviously. You would know given that you,” he stopped short as if realizing he was rambling, “Oh, crap, I’m so sorry if bringing you put you in a bad mood there. I just—“

“Don’t apologize,” Teddy interjected, assuring Billy with a smile. “I’m glad you showed me where you did your thinking. That’s not something lightly shared.”

Billy looked like he grew a few inches from that. “You showed me that theater. That wasn’t a light gesture either.”

A similar feeling crept over Teddy, as it had when he stopped at the doorway, as if though he was teetering toward something ineffable. As much as it unsettled him, it gave him a bout of courage and hope he thought had long been extinguished.

Watching Billy, he said, “I know it’s weird to, well, say any of what I’m about to say but, erm, thanks.” He offered a smaller one of his smile, genuine all the same. “I never really had a friend before. A  _real_  friend.” Dare he say it? “A…well, are we, becoming…best friends or something?”

Billy chuckled and seemed to find more amusement in the question than Teddy did. Maybe a bit flushed too if Teddy looked hard enough.

“Whatever we are, I like it,” Billy said. “But I think we could just call it ‘Billy and Teddy’.”

And that was all it took for Teddy to wrap up his thoughts on Billy. There was no competition, no need for further analysis. Billy was unlike so many other people, the antithesis of what Greg had been to Teddy, so much so that he almost found it silly he had bothered to compare them to begin with. The faintest whiff of a Billy-centric thought was a wind that swept Greg away, far out of Teddy’s mind, leaving him to peace and, well, Billy.

“I like that,” Teddy answered.

Maybe he’d tell Billy about Greg in detail, let the load off his back and mind just a little. For now, he hoped what he gave was enough and figured the piece that Billy that had granted him was just as good.

“I…sort of have a confession too,” Billy began. “Another one, I guess. Back at the restaurant, when you were talking about all the food and you asked if I was okay.”

Teddy nodded, relenting to not speak for fear he’d say something that would change Billy’s mind.

“I don’t mean to sound like a creeper, but I just like listening to you talk.” Billy shrugged, but Teddy could detect points of unease in the way he shifted and looked anywhere but at him. “I like learning about you, things you’ve done, what your interests are. At the beginning, you kind of intimidated me in all honesty. Obviously I figured out you were a cool guy, but there was this distance.”

Billy huffed and crossed his arms, looking frustrated at his lack of articulation. “Like,” he went on, “you were nice and cool, but you were kind of reserved somehow. I can’t really explain it. Now though, you’ve been talking more, about yourself too, and it’s nice. I’m glad.”

Teddy tried to not look like he was gaping. Part of his mind had shut down, having hung on Billy’s words and run off who knew where with them. Another, still attached part of his mind told him his ogling wasn’t making Billy feel any less uncomfortable.

Thankfully, it was easy to breathe out, “Thanks. It feels nice.”

Coherency slammed back into Teddy when Billy looked directly at him and smiled. It was the smallest smile out of the mage thus far, and couldn’t possibly be anymore sincere and brilliant.

“So,” Billy exclaimed just before Teddy thought he’d combust from the profound silence, “ah, since I dragged you here, let me give you a tour now. Then, we can play games before I walk you home? And I  _will_  walk you home this ti—Oh!”

Teddy could only keep up with one bit of information at a time and altogether dropped the idea of talking as Billy ushered into his closet and bullied some hangers aside.

“I can’t believe I almost forgot. I am sorry it took a week to get it back to you,” Billy was puffing. With a gentle tug he produced Teddy’s sweater. “Tada. I washed it for you. I hope that was okay.”

Teddy blinked at the garment, then had enough sense to peel it off the hanger and examine it. It couldn’t look more spoiled and in better hands. He laughed. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about it,” he said.

That was a lie. More than once he let a few fantasies fly out of his grip, ones that had Billy cuddling into it because—well, there were a lot of nonsensical ‘becauses’ in Teddy’s mind and none which were conducive to the current situation.

“Thanks for loaning it to me,” Bill said. “You could always borrow one of mine if the walk gets too chilly for you. Though it might be a snug fit.”

Teddy was tempted. “ Snug works.”

He looked up, found Billy wearing a soft expression, as though he was truly at ease. It did a curious thing to Teddy’s body, warming it up, making him feel all sorts of funny oddities in his core. But, he decided it was a good kind of funny, and he went with it.

“I think I’d like to take you up on the tour and some games,” Teddy added.

He just didn’t know it quite then that whatever ‘it’ was would become something more.

**-X-**


End file.
